Ryan Godown Jr. rocketed from a 19th starting spot to win the Short Track Super Series (STSS) crate 602 sportsman feature at Georgetown Speedway in Delaware. Godown said the victory checked off one of three goals he made prior to the season — winning a feature at more than one track.
“It is easier to race at one track and win there, [but] harder to travel to different tracks in different states and win at those tracks,” Godown, of Ringoes, New Jersey, said. “Even though I won five features at Bridgeport [Motorsports Park in New Jersey], including one STSS feature, I needed that STSS feature win at Georgetown Speedway to prove to myself I could win anywhere.”
Godown achieved his second goal, as well, this season.
“Strive to be competitive, no matter where I race, and learn from who I am racing against,” said Godown. “During Super Dirt Week at Oswego Speedway [in New York], there were 111 sportsman cars there. I finished seventh and learned a lot.”
Godown considers his third goal met, too.
“Be in contention for a championship,” Godown said. “I feel I accomplished this at Bridgeport [Motorsports Park], although it was unfortunate we had to miss some races to travel elsewhere. We finished sixth in points — that’s not terrible.”
This year might mark Godown’s third year in a sportsman modified, but he quickly notes it’s his first full season in any type of race car.
“When I was 12, I tried to drive a Slingshot, but that didn’t go so well,” said Godown. “I believe my dad [longtime race car driver Ryan Godown] thought I would never be a race car driver after he saw me drive for the first time.”
Instead, baseball seemed more for Godown as a teenager. He played the sport throughout high school and into college.
“The pandemic hit — I couldn’t train, I couldn’t play,” Godown said. “I needed to fill the void left by baseball being canceled. I would sit on the couch and just miss playing baseball. Racing helped fill the void.”
With this year’s goals now in the rearview mirror, Ryan Godown Jr. created a new checklist for 2022. You can expect Godown to do everything he can to hit his marks again.
“[This season] was not my breakout year, but it was a good year,” said Godown. “I set goals and told myself I had to step up to attain these goals.”
The Outside Groove Director of Photography has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
